The Sharpe Appreciation Society have a website for fans and the less interested: http://www.southessex.co.uk and one of the rifleman actors his own site: http://www.riflemanharris.co.uk/ . Enjoy.
davidbfpo
SAS = Sharpe
The Sharpe Appreciation Society have a website for fans and the less interested: http://www.southessex.co.uk and one of the rifleman actors his own site: http://www.riflemanharris.co.uk/ . Enjoy.
davidbfpo
Bing West
A friend just loaned me The Strongest Tribe and The Village. Definitely look forward to reading them both.
He cloaked himself in a veil of impenetrable terminology.
Ads for "The Unforgiving Minute" keep popping up in the upper right of my screen here at the Council. Has anyone read it? If so, would you say that someone unfamiliar with the military could read/enjoy it?
I would like to be able to recommend at least one book that would help people understand the military, especially in the context of what is occurring today. The people whom I associate with aren't willfully ignorant, imo. They are just different. Should any of them ever express a desire to read up on something, I'd like to have a recommendation ready.
Can't go wrong with We Were Soldiers Once and Young. It's a great window into the military midset.Originally Posted by Schmedlap
SFC W
There's some decent fiction out there, too, and that's sometimes more accessible to those who don't have a military background and aren't into military history.
"On the plains and mountains of the American West, the United States Army had once learned everything there was to learn about hit-and-run tactics and guerrilla warfare."
T.R. Fehrenbach This Kind of War
I just read the NY Times review for The Unforgiving Minute via the SWJ blog. Judging from what a journalist got from the book, it sounds like what I was looking for. Reading the reviewer's account of the book, I thought to myself, "sounds very similar to the story of every other Infantry Officer I've ever met who was commissioned within 3 years of 9/11." That's exactly what I was looking for. A common story that takes a while to convey - but apparently this guy did a good job of conveying it, if a NY Times columnist was able to understand it. That's the type of target audience I was looking at.
Schmedlap,
I just finished reading it. Not a bad read and he does have a compelling personal story, although I don't think his experience as a LT is atypical (which isn't meant as a criticism, just categorizing it). The first 1/3rd of the book covers his West Point experience, the second 1/3rd of the book covers his Rhodes/Oxford experience, and the last 1/3rd covers his platoon leader experience and getting out of the Army.
While the title was probably more of an editor's choice, I felt that it doesn't accurately portray the scope of the book. I went into the book expecting to see more about the "unforgiving minute" and it takes until 4/5ths of the book until you get to it. To be fair, however, it's not a bad juxtaposition to show that despite all the preparation, sometimes events are beyond your control and so you need to be prepared for that harsh reality.
If you're looking for a book to recommend to those outside the military, I'd offer up "In a Time of War" instead since the "cast" of characters in the book is larger and it really demonstrates the sacrifice of both those who are deployed as well as the spouses/girlfriends/family left back home and the range of emotions that they experience. I think folks would connect more with that than the unique experience of Mullaney (Oxford, traveling the world between terms while at Oxford) prior to actually reporting to a unit.
On the flip side, the book certainly casts the military in a much more intellectual light than some of the stereotypes out there (between Mullaney's Oxford experience and his mentors at West Point - Nagl, Yingling, Ostlund), so if that's the message you'd like to send in your recommendation, then this book is on target for that.
Concur
I'm about halfway through it now. Mullaney is a classmate of mine with remarkable experiences, wicked smarts, and a good heart, but his book is more of a personal memoir rather than the defining word on warfare as some have alluded.
He simply did one tour in combat as a platoon leader; I can only imagine what his insight would have been if he had stayed in for combat command, but he choose a different path. I would not be suprised if one day we see Congressman, Senator, or President as a label for him.
Regardless, the book serves as a great recruiting pitch for USMA and a call for service from the country's best and brightest. In that light, he nailed it.
v/r
Mike
Concur. "In a time of war" wasn't what I thought it was going to be, but I liked it, even though the tone was sad, IMO.
I have my wife reading it, and aside from when she has questions about jargon or acronyms, she can't put it down, except for the parts that made her cry. Another good one along the same lines is "The long road home". It came out a while back, but is worth the read. It was much more detailed with the combat portion, though.
Sir, what the hell are we doing?
This is what I'm up against.
http://abumuqawama.blogspot.com/2009...e-veteran.html
Ugh...Speechless...time to throw up and break things...Ugh
Dude, she understands irregular and unconventional warfare!!! We should all learn from her covert infiltration, disruption, and deception techniques- quiet forms of anger...Too smart for her own good with no experience under her belt- grievances persists, she cries stupidly. Mike weeps for her woeful bliss.
Classic.
v/r
Mike
Thanks, Penn State.
I guess Matthew's inability to get above a C+ also demonstrates that we are indeed knuckledraggers, in addition to being overly aggressive and confrontational.
Sir, what the hell are we doing?
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